Mesa Here we come

  Final preparations are being made before I leave out of here to Mesa to start the Hoka Hey Challenge. I have so much to be thankful for. Tomorrow will be two years from when I got the news from my doctor that I had breast cancer again. I remember the first time I got the news in 1999, I was in my living room with two of my kids when the doctor called and confirmed that the biopsy  news was not good. As I hung up the phone I went numb. Looking at my two youngest playing there in the living room I wondered how much more of they're childhood I was going to get to share. Because I didn't want to show them I was scared I called my sister Nancy. She and I talked for a while and I was able to keep it together. I did what I needed to do to fight like the doctor advised and won that battle. 10 years later it was back and this time the fight was going to be a lot harder. I dusted off the boxing gloves, slide them back on and started round two.
   Now here I am two years later getting ready for round two of another battle, but this battle was MY choice. The weird thing is if it hadn't been for the first battle I wouldn't have been able to participate in the second one. While in Chemo at SBLHC in Mattoon in a room full of other cancer battlers I read about a motorcycle challenge that was going from Key West, Florida to Homer, Alaska with a winner take all prize of half a million dollars. I could actually entertain that kind of a ride because in Nov. of 09 I took an early retirement from the USPS because it was either retire early and take a cut in pay or not get paid at all because I was out of leave and still had a long way to go before I would be able to work. So now I had the time to ride but would I be able to?  When the doctor came into the room that day I asked him if he thought I would be strong enough to do a ride like this and he said "Go live your life" and gave me $100. That's how it all started. I shared that story with some friends and within a couple of days there was a benefit planned to make this ride happen for me. Donations were gathered and by the seat of my pants and the grace of God I left Illinois for Florida to do the first Hoka Hey Challenge.
   Now here we are days away from Hoka Hey 2011 and I can't wait to get rolling. I spent the winter months plotting and planning with other challengers, sharing road stories from last year and deciding what to do different or better. Both of these events have been bathed in prayer, praying for confirmation this is where God wanted me and praying that I would be used in this event to do something good. I anxiously wait to see what's in store as I stuff zip lock bags full of clothes, maps, bed roll, tent, bifocal sunglasses, bifocal safety glasses, camel back, nonperishable munchies, rain gear, camera, and a deep desire to ride like the wind.
   A huge THANK YOU to so many people for making it possible with the financial support, prayers and encouragement you all are providing me.  Mesa, Arizona to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia through 48 of our 50 states in 17 days..........WOW

Can't sleep so I'll blog

51 days until the challenge leaves Mesa, and in some ways I'm ready and could leave tonight and other ways I need another 6 months. I feel much more prepared this run then last but I think because I did ride last year that is where I feel like I need more time to prepare. I have been riding a lot lately with a former Hoka Hey Challenger and he has given me so much more confidence in myself and I so need that. Lucie has a new front tire now and I was thinking if I sold her I could get a new (used) bike with a bigger tank but so far no takers. Riding is something I just really love to do. I started when I was 10 or so and never lost the love for it. The people I have met on my bike are usually pretty great people. I remember one ride I went on to Myrtle Beach with my oldest daughter on board. We met a guy who evidently had been living on "Happy meals" because he had all the different toys you get in those meals glued to his bike. If those toys could talk I  bet they would have some great stories to tell. My younger daughter and I rode to Canada twice and they just loved her. She always managed to light up a room. We now have Canadian friends because of those trips. Well guess I will go try to sleep again. Goodnight....

Prayer

Hello everyone, I am working really hard on my fund raising campaign and have met so many awesome people. The awareness of people to what is going on right here in our country is so important. The Veterans that gave of themselves I can never duplicate, and the Lakota Souix should not be ignored. God has told me to go to South Dakota and pray so over the fourth of July weekend that is my intentions. My efforts to do anything has to always start with Him. I ask that you join me in prayer and that what God has to tell me I will do to the best of my abilities. 

My Jesus My Savior

With Easter only one day away I have spent a lot of my time these last few days with tear filled eyes. To think that before He ever knew me and knew all the sins I would commit He came as a baby lived a sin free life and hung on a cross after be whipped and spit on, mocked and brutalized for me. Given a crown of thorns to wear on is head. I don't deserve it, I can never pay Him back for saving my life. But if I can change one life by showing them the love that Jesus showed me it will make so much of a difference.

Stevie Nicks/ Rod Stewart concert

Recently my daughter turned 21 and was given ticket to a concert with Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart as the entertainers. How cool is that? Her boyfriend knew she loves Fleetwood Mac and of course Stevie Nicks. She said the only Rod Stewart song she could recall was Maggie May even though we know he has put out some other great tunes beside that one just gets a lot of air play. The show was at the United Center in Chicago so pretty big venue, and they had paid $80. a seat for second floor seats. Wow I remember when $25. was alot of a ticket to a concert. Anyway as they are getting close to the UC she notices that the average person heading toward the show was, well let's be kind older then her. She is not seeing anyone that was her age and was thinking well maybe when we get in we will see some younger people. 
So they find their seats and get ready for the show. The lights get dimmer and she realizes she is seeing Stevie heading for the stage and is on her feet getting excited. She yells out "I love you Stevie" and looks around and realizes she is the only one standing. She said " wow what is up with these people aren't they going to stand up?"  Knowing how her Mom would be at this concert she just couldn't understand this lack of enthusiasm. Stevie opens with "Gold Dust Woman." After the song is over my daughter looks around and realizes no one has joined her and looks at the people behind her and says " I hope you don't mind if I stand." To which the guy behind her say "Well actually I do." Crushed into submission she sits down. While Stevie starts another song the tears start flowing from my daughters eyes. She can't believe she has just come to see one of her all time favorite people at the geriatric ward of the UC.  Someone in front of her turns around and see's her crying and says"OMG are you crying?" She responds, "Yeah buddy I am, I can't believe I am this close to  Stevie Nicks and everyone is sitting like this is a symphony. " 
So not letting these fuddy duds get to her she sees a stairwell she and her boyfriend can stand in and starts dancing her booty off.  Motivating a few enthusiastic women she is then joined in her dancing. She watched the entire Stevie Nicks portion from the stairwell. 

Between artist they decided to go walk around a little and it reiterated to her they were the youngest people there.  They returned to there seats for the start of the Rod Stewart portion of the show to more of the same enthusiasm they had experienced for Stevie. Unfortunately now there was a security person in the stairwell who informed them they could not stand there anymore. Not being as big  a fan of  Rod Stewart as she is of Stevie Nicks she stayed put, until the security girl disappeared.  Returning to the stairwell the dance floor was open again. Rod Stewart starts kicking soccer balls out into the crowd and my daughter says to her boyfriend "I can't believe he is kicking soccer balls out to the old folks." Well just as she says that she sees Rod look straight up at her and kicks a soccer ball right into her hands. What a shot, second balcony, right over the rail and bam right into her hands. She was so excited. She looks at it and it's signed by Rod Stewart. Some women comes up to her and offers her $100. for it to which she replies"Lady I earned this ball I wouldn't sell it for any amount." 


As they were leaving the concert she could hear the people around her comment on the ball and one guy says  "Honey if anyone deserves that soccer ball it's you." They stopped somewhere to get something to eat and she proudly brings the ball in with her and is still hearing comments about the ball. One women walks up to her in the restaurant and my daughter enthusiastically tells the story of how Rod looked straight at her and kicked it to her to which the women smirks and replies yeah right, so my daughter just looks at her and says "Well I'm the one with the soccer ball."

So despite a rocky start to a great concert she had the time of her life. 

Why the donate button

Well you may have noticed I now have a donate button on my blog site. That is because The Hoka Hey Challenge for me is going to be an awareness ride. People were so kind to me last year because of the breast cancer and made it possible for me to do the ride that I want to return some of my gratitude by riding for two very needed groups.One is the Serve Veterans Fund and the other is for the Lakota Souix Indians on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.I will be riding this year as a bike a thon. I will be looking for people to donate or help me get donations. Like other bike a thons You can find people for me and earn things like patches dog tags t-shirts and sweatshirts based on the level of donations you are able to collect.Or you can simply donate straight into my pay pal account.And of course it's tax deductable.I can provide you with a sign up sheet if you are interested in helping collect.

Hoka Hey

Thought it would probably be a good idea to start my blog with an explanation of what the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is. Let's just call it HHMC so I don't have to keep typing that out. Anyway the HHMC is an endurance ride that challenges even the most seasoned rider.We knew we were riding from Key West Florida, to Homer, Alaska but that was it. The riders are given a set of directions not previously viewed from check point to check point. The directions are not "go twelve miles and turn west on to such and such it just tells you turn left, turn right and so on. So you don't know if you are going two miles and making a left or two hundred miles. There is a deadline for the rider to reach the final destination and the icing on the cake is no gps and no indoor accommodations. Yep that's right sleeping outside. On the bike, next to the bike, under a picnic table, on top of a picnic table, tent. Rain or shine. So your saying to yourself now why would anyone want to do such a crazy thing well the ride last year was a winner take all of a half million dollars. The goal was to have a thousand riders who payed a thousand dollars but there were only about 500 who rode last year. And you thought there were a lot more crazy bikers out there then that and there probably are just not as many with the money or time off from work to give it a shot.


For me when I read about the HHMC it was a bucket list thing. I have always wanted to ride to Alaska on my motorcycle. I read about the ride while hooked up to a IV pumping poison into my veins trying to kill off the cancer that showed up in my breast for the second time in my life. You know chemotherapy. 


Being a 49 year old single Mom riding off on Lucie(that's what I named my Heritage softail classic) for a month to do something this epic is really hard to even entertain. But with the support of some awesome friends and people I didn't even know, it started to become a reality. The first was my oncologist. He's gave me a hundred dollars and told me to "Go live your life." So that's where it all started for me.